Digicube(Square subsidiary) and Mediaworks Publishing have announced that consumers reserving Final Fantasy X at convenience stores will be eligible to win a free PC calendar. By sending two tickets on a post card, consumers will be eligible to win a card-type CDROM which includes a digital calendar of FFX (1000 winners).

The first ticket is enclosed with the free bandana- a convenience store dedicated bonus. The second ticket can be obtained by purchasing any one of the following Mediaworks publications: Dengeki Playstation, Dengeki Playstation D45, Dengeki-Ou, or Tokyo Walker.

Digicube has released their 4th promotional footage of Final Fantasy X. The promotion features explanations on the Sphere system and Blitzball.

The Digicube footage can be downloaded in mpeg format at Ruliweb, 24.8MB (320 x 240) or 111MB (640 x 480).

PS2IGN has released the Final Fantasy X bonus trailer included in the "Final Fantasy The Spirits Within" movie soundtrack. For the trailer (19MB), check the site's section.

Special thanks to Paris for the news.

Famed movie Critics Roger Ebert and partner Richard Roeper have given a "Two Big Thumbs Up" to "Final Fantasy- The Spirits Within". Quoted by Ebert and Roeper,

"The characters are sort of human, but sort of not human... that slight unreality was a part of the effect.... what we're saying is that it's not better than life or different than life, but it's something new. "         "It's not just a shooting gallery or video game type of movie." .

For the full review in streaming Mp3, check their Site's review. For a readable review from Roger Ebert, check the Chicago Sun-Times Column.

Short Comment- I didn't know that Siskel passed away. Both Ebert and Roeper seems to love the movie for sure. -H. Moriarty

Additional game images of Capcom vs SNK 2 have been released by Impress Gamewatch. The images feature actions from each of the 6 grooves in the game. For the images, check the site's section.

Impress Gamewatch has also relased a number of images from the network play between the DreamCast and Playstation 2 software. System, options and network chat are presented in the images. While some parts of the game such as fonts may look different between the two versions, both versions play identically. For the images, check the site's second section.

Special thanks to Stef Walters for the news.

Gaming News sites SPONG (Super Players On-line Gamebase) has reported that the release of the DreamCast version of Capcom vs SNK 2 in Europe may be difficult. Quoted by SPONG,

A Capcom spokesman today said that although the Dreamcast version was in production, publication might be a different story. "Yes, the Dreamcast version is being produced but Capcom Europe will not be publishing it. The game can easily be released in Europe but we will need to find a publisher for it. We have no interest in publishing the Dreamcast version, though we will be publishing the PlayStation 2 version of the game." (article written: 7/12)

For the full article and more details regarding Capcom's machines ports & network capabilities, check their site's articles.

Game media news site Impress GameWatch has released a demo of Gainax's upcoming "Ayanami Growth Project" PC game. The demo plays for a turn of one month, with full functions except for Saving, Loading, and BGM. Two versions are available; no voices (61MB) and voices (121MB). For the demos, check the site's section.

Short Comment- The game's been out for a month, and now they release a demo.. Interesting. Please note that the game may not run on non-Japanese OS; try it on your own risk. -H. Moriarty